


HOLLOW

by Saturn_Knight



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games), OFF (Game)
Genre: Basically HK characters as OFF characters in a slightly changed world, Buckle IN boys we boutta go through it!!, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Death, Gen, Gosh tfw you enter a dead fandom and decide to mash it with your fixation, Grimm is the Judge, If you've played through OFF you will know what I mean with that last tag, OFF AU, The Elsen turn into Husks/Common Bugs, The Pale King is the Batter, The Player is named Constantine, the Specters are the Siblings, will update more as I post chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:56:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29872236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saturn_Knight/pseuds/Saturn_Knight
Summary: "Caution, it is possible that certain scenes in this story are shocking to an unwarned public.Or maybe not…Greetings, C o n s t a n t i n e. You have been assigned to a being called “the Wyrm.” The Wyrm has an important mission.Be sure that it is accomplished.We will let you out in zone 0.Good luck."A Hollow Knight/OFF AU where the Pale King takes up the sacred duty of purifying the world.
Relationships: The Pale King/White Lady (Hollow Knight) (Implied)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	HOLLOW

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there dear reader! Welcome to yet again another AU hahahaha (I can't seem to write Canon ._.) This time it is the story of OFF but using the Hollow Knight Characters. I highly recommend that you either play through or watch a lets play of this game because  
> 1\. OFF is better seen and not read   
> 2\. this will make 1000x more sense with knowledge of both games  
> 3\. OFF is amazing but unsettling and I highly recommend it anyways 10/10
> 
> Most of the dialogue the characters speak is from in game with a few changes to better fit the narrative (as well as to not be a direct copy). I am going by Markiplier's letsplay fyi. This was really fun to do honestly! Hope you enjoy reading!

Caution, it is possible that certain scenes in this story are shocking to an unwarned public. 

Or maybe not…

  
  
  


Greetings,  **C o n s t a n t i n e.** You have been assigned to a being called “the Wyrm.” The Wyrm has an important mission. 

Be sure that it is accomplished. 

We will let you out in zone 0. 

Good luck. 

For more information, find the one called “the Troupe Master.” 

  
  
  


Welcome to  **HOLLOW**

The Wyrm opened his eyes to the surprising sight of not the darkness, but of solid land, flanked by a sea of sand, with a feeling compelling him to move. The Wyrm continued walking from where he had first materialized, stepping further into zone 0 it appeared devoid of life, colored in dark greys and blues. When he got to what appeared to be a giant cliff, small holes denoting caves and platforms, a being appeared from one of the caverns. It was a bat, it’s mouth curled into a jagged grin that showed off massive fangs. 

The bat stopped a few paces away from the Wyrm before a grating voice rose from it’s unmoving smile, “There cannot be any other living beings in zone 0, so I must assume that you are only a mere figment of my imagination.” it paused before continuing, “Nevertheless I will introduce myself. I am the Troupe Master, and I am aching to know your name, dear elusory interlocutor.”

“I am the Wyrm. I’ve been assigned to a sacred mission.” the Wyrm brusquely replied. 

The Troupe Master merely cocked it’s head, “It is a pleasure. However, it is not the puppet I was addressing, but the puppeteer controlling it. What is your name, dear puppeteer?” 

The Wyrm blinked, “His name is Constantine. He cannot talk to us.” he flicked his eyes upwards before returning to neutrally gaze at the bat. “However, he can hear and see everything.” 

“Even though you two are but an inexistant apparition in my eyes, let it be said that I am delighted to meet you as well, dear Constantine.” the Troupe Master seemed to grin even wider before offering a small bow. 

“I believe we are in need of your services.” the Wyrm continued, he had a sacred mission to complete, there was no need for idle pratter. 

Rising from its bow the Troupe Master replied, “Many people are in need of my services, you know. Everybody  _ loves  _ performers.” 

“We dance around their stages and act in the most passionate manner. They adore that.” 

“I’m not talking about that kind of help.” the Wyrm interrupted. 

A soft clucking sound escaped the Troupe Master’s still grinning maw, “I see...but what sort of service could I offer to a phantasmic entity?” the Wyrm straightened up just a bit, “I have a sacred mission to fulfill.”    
  


“I must purify the World.”

The Bat’s shoulders shook lightly in silent laughter, amused it said, “There is no objective more laudable than yours. As jocularly as it seems to me, I accept to serve you as a guide through this area, if it is of any help to you.” 

The Wyrm nodded his gratitude and watched as the Troupe Master spun on its feet before leaping to an incredulous height, disappearing into one of the cliff hangings. He continued forward closer to a set of floating platforms that would allow him to ascend higher into the zone. To the side of the platforms however a small chest caught his eye, and when he opened it he found a small paper ticket, the word “ **Luck”** scrawled on one side. He pocketed the ticket without a second thought, Constantine must see it as useful for him somehow. 

Once the ticket was secured on his person, the Wyrm went into a cave entrance at the ground level, inside were numbers in a square order. Taking a small pause to make sure he had the numbers memorized just in case there was an importance to them he went back outside and hopped onto the floating platforms to reach the cliffside he had seen the Troupe Master ascend to. And there it was, its claws positioned in a thinking manner as it gleefully gazed at the Wyrm. 

“Allow me to confess that I find you quite tangible for a mere illusory being. Might you be in fact a creature of shell and haemolymph?” the Bat tapped a claw on one of its fangs as it mused. “I believe so, yes.” was the Wyrm’s reply. 

The Troupe Master brought the claw it had been rhythmically tapping on it’s fangs up to its forehead and tilted its head back in dramatic fashion, “So I have been mistaken from the beginning! You did not even interrupt me with my deluded fantasies.” Returning back to its neutral position of hiding its claws in its cape the Troupe Master squinted at the other being across from it. “This is relatively bizarre I must say, for you are the first living being I was given a chance to encounter in this zone. I had in fact concluded that zone 0 was a barren land, obviously I was mistaken.” 

“However,” it continued, “there exists other zones. In those territories, the risk of hostile individuals attacking you in the most savage way is quite high. Your sacred mission will likely lead you into those lands. Would you like me to teach you the dances of violent confrontations?”

The Wyrm paused as the choice for learning to fight appeared for Constantine. When he confirmed that there was no need for a lesson the Troupe Master huffed, “So are you pretending to be able to handle that Nail with bravado without needing my wise pieces of advice?” It was clear the question had been directed towards the invisible but ever present Constantine. “I hope for you that what you state is more than hot air meant to impress me, because that would be foolish.” With that it turned around to face even more platforms reaching higher into the cliffside. 

“Be as it may, my guidance has not reached its end yet, let me ask you to keep following me, if you still want me as your guide.” the Troupe Master sprung up again. Would this be a recurring event, the Wyrm dimly thought to himself, there were perfectly good platforms to use to go higher up. Nevertheless the Wyrm followed, the platforms leading to a cave. 

Inside the cave the Wyrm could see the Troupe Master on the far side, with floating stones placed near each corner of the room. Numbers dotted the wall on his left and right behind the Bat he could see stairs leading up blocked by stalagmites. 

“Ahh yes, to pass through here, you need to use your cerebral organ. You know, the one hovering around that head of yours.” With a flourish the Troupe Master waved a hand to the stones hovering in the corner. “I believe those floating stones correspond to the symbols you can see on the wall in some fashion.” 

The Wyrm observed the number symbols on the wall before deducing that the stones in each corner were assigned a number in the same position on the wall. As he placed a palm to the first stone in the order it started to glow with a pale light, as did the rest of the stones when he touched them. Once he pressed the final stone the stalagmites simply disappeared without fanfare and the Troupe Master ran up into the next cavern. Walking up into the next cave revealed another similar puzzle, except the stones were all bunched together while the numbers were lined up in a line across the stone wall. Pressing the correct order of stones also resulted in the same outcome, the stalagmites vanishing in the blink of an eye and the Bat trudging onwards and upwards. 

In the next room the Wyrm was witness to the Troupe Master strutting towards a torch on the far side of the cavern with an unnaturally red flame flickering on top. “Ahaha finally!” the Troupe Master purred as it grabbed ahold of the torch in one claw, “After all that exertion, the eagerly awaited recompense makes its entrance to the scene!” With the other claw the bat seemed to pluck a tendril of the fire and as it finally opened it’s jagged maw it ate the flame like one would eat cotton candy at a state fair. 

The Wyrm internally shrugged at the bat’s questionable taste in food before surveying the stones now lined in rows in the middle of the room. There were no numbers etched into the walls to guide him on which stone to press in a certain order but he recalled back to the ground level cavern and the numbers inscribed there. Just as he suspected, the same order of numbers in the lower cave corresponded to the positions of the stones in the upper one and he set to work tapping the stones in the correct order. When he touched the last stone in the sequence the stalagmite blocking access to the room on the far right vanished as well. 

He waited for another quip from the Troupe Master, but it seemed as if the Bat was too preoccupied with its flamey meal to care. Deciding to first check the opening across from the now open doorway the Wyrm found himself back at the ground level of zone 0 that had been blocked off before. Next to the entrance was another chest, this time with a slab of meat named “a piece of  **Pale Flesh** .” Pocketing the slab the same way he had pocketed the  **Luck Ticket** , the Wyrm turned back, there was nothing else to see in zone 0 other than the other doorway. 

Passing by the still feasting Troupe Master, the Wyrm entered the other doorway, coming to a peninsula just like the one he had materialized on, the sea of sand still churning around. In the center of the small strip of land was another floating stone, except this one was perfectly square, with a small yellow colored gem on one of the sides. From behind the Wyrm there came a voice. “Ah, here is an accessory that is going to be especially helpful on your purifying quest, dear enlightened being and wyrmy friend.” the Wyrm turned to see the Troupe Master with its now familiar grinning facade, torch nowhere to be seen. “It is a stone, hovering in midair, nevertheless you should be able to differentiate it from similar stones by the contrast of bad taste it imposes on your view of clashing colors,” the Bat muttered out, “defying any  _ sensible  _ course of the stone arts.” 

“However, do not judge it too quickly,” the Troupe Master sauntered nearer to the cube, “because despite its criticisable appearance, this cube is of undeniable use. Aside from rendering you the entirety of your health and Soul points, it is capable of saving your progress and sending you to the nothingness.” 

“The nothingness is an area of transition outside of space itself, where you can travel from one place to another at the speed of a stag.” Gesturing to the floating cube the Troupe Master prodded, “I now invite you to try it out in order to discover locations more populous than this wasteland.” Now bringing both of its hands from the folds of its cloak the Bat reached towards the dusty grey sky, “Open your wings my dear companion! Hurry away towards the following zones without tarrying!” Snapping its head back to face the Wyrm, the Troupe Master’s eyes filled with a crazed light. 

“Your only enemy is the fear that will grab you!”

“Alright.” the Wyrm deadpanned. 

Sidestepping to allow the Wyrm access to the cube the Troupe Master reassured him, “I too travel frequently through the zones of the world, we will surely meet again without a doubt.” As the Wyrm started towards the cube to enter the nothingness the Bat stopped his advance with a small “oh!”    
  
Reaching into its cloak it revealed a glossy blood red card, a small design of the Troupe Master’s head emblazoned on one side. “Before you leave, take this. This object of a curious nomenclature will be the key that permits you passage into zone 1.” the Wyrm took the card from the Bat’s claws, pocketing it revealed it was called “ **The Ritual Card”**

Now with no other interruptions or words of advice from the Troupe Master, the Wyrm stepped closer to the cube and placed a claw atop its surface. He felt a surge of energy reinvigorate his health and Soul reserved before a query shot through his mind. “Back to the nothingness?” Pausing once more to allow Constantine to decide the Wyrm felt his body being pulled into the cube.    
  


And in the blink of an eye he found himself entering the Void. 

**Author's Note:**

> Well there you have chapter 1 and zone 0 complete! My update times are extremely sporadic due to schoolwork and activities clogging up my schedule but I will try to fit each zone into it's own chapter, but if it turns into a huge chunk I may have to separate them. Kudos and comments are my Lifeblood so if you enjoyed my wacky AU be sure to let me know!  
> Be ready...the story of OFF takes a morbid turn and ramps up to 100 later on, are you ready to see the Wyrm purify the World?   
> Anyways I'm going to vibe to Pepper Steak for another hour because that song is my jam.


End file.
